Getting your first job is no longer mostly limited to fast food restaurants and retail stores (although these can be excellent opportunities with room for growth). With modern technology and accessible online education & tutorials, it’s easy to find out how to make money online as a teen with no experience needed.
The Upside to Making Money Online at a Young Age
Not only is online work more flexible than a traditional job, but if you have a laptop or even a mobile device, you can work from anywhere.
There are plenty of other benefits to opting for an online gig:
Get more comfortable with the internet
Chances are, you’re going to utilize plenty of websites and online platforms in your future — when you go to college, get into your career, or start a business. While you’re probably already pretty tech-savvy, it’s great to develop some valuable skills and familiarity with the web as a teenager before you graduate high school.
Grow your network
It’s possible you’ve never thought about needing any sort of network while in high school, but the sooner you start building connections with others, the better. Some of the best opportunities are found through networking
Discover what interests you
Getting really good at a certain set of tasks or successfully building a side hustle is an excellent way to figure out what you want to do in the future. Finding your passion can happen when you least expect it!
Make more money than a minimum wage position
While some online jobs for teens are better for making a few bucks here and there, others can be highly lucrative. For example, finding a niche product you can buy and resell for a profit could make you thousands of dollars per month if you get really good at it.
With all those added perks, who wouldn’t want to explore jobs you can do from your phone or computer?
14 Legit Ways to Make Money Online for Teens (No Experience Required)
1. Flip goods on OfferUp
This option can be highly profitable depending on how much research and time you put into it. First, you’ll want to research hot items that sell quickly. Remember, demand is everything! It’s a good idea to try a few different items and see what is working or not.
Some ideas:
- Restore old bikes or furniture from thrift stores and sell at a premium price
- Go to garage sales and find things you can sell at a marked up price like baseball cards, clothing, baby items, or toys
- Buy cheap shoes in decent condition from Goodwill, clean them up, and sell them
Important: Always ask an adult to come with you when meeting a buyer and do so in a public place for safety.
Minimum age to create an account on OfferUp – 16 years old
2. Sell handmade items on Etsy
As one of the largest online marketplaces on the web, Etsy is a place teens can sell handmade goods to make money. There are endless possibilities — from custom leather wallets and watch bands to digital products, the sky’s the limit.
Not sure what to make? Check out YouTube for some ideas. And who knows, you could end up making a full time income once you’ve established some customers and built some authority in your space.
Minimum age to sell on Etsy – 13 years old on a parent’s account
3. Get Paid to Take Online Surveys
Taking surveys for money isn’t exactly going to make you rich, but over time you can save up a few extra bucks and use it for a night out with friends or to put gas in your car.
Once you sign up and start completing surveys, you can make around $3-4 per hour which adds up to anywhere from $25 – $50 a month. Instead of mindlessly scrolling social media in your spare time, take 30 minutes a day and complete some surveys!
Minimum age requirement for SurveyJunkie: 16 years old
Related: 5 Best Survey Sites to Make Money Online
4. Sell clothing on Depop
Here’s another example of a way to make money online by selling unique clothing items. The platform Depop has become a popular place to sell secondhand clothes and streetwear from up and coming brands and creators, allowing teens a unique chance to make money. During the pandemic, the site exploded in popularity and has become the hot place to sell clothing, especially for Gen Z’ers.
You can create inventory by emptying out your closet, searching local yard sales, or hitting the thrift shops for less common finds.
Check out how teens have made tons of cash selling vintage clothing on Depop.
Minimum age to sell on Depop – 13 years old with parent permission
5. Start a podcast
In the past decade, podcast popularity has soared among all age groups, and understandably. Podcasts give creators the ultimate flexibility to design their own show around specific interests. Not only is hosting a show flexible, but you can get episodes out there quickly and easily.
How do you make money from podcasting? It won’t happen overnight, but if your show gets popular enough, you can sell advertising spots where companies pay you money to insert a quick ad into your show.
For example, let’s say you start a podcast about the latest footwear releases and you and a friend review shoes. A local or online shoe retailer might pay you for a 30-second ad spot in your podcast episodes.
You don’t need any fancy equipment either, as an inexpensive microphone and closet (for better acoustics) are the bare minimum to start recording.
Minimum age requirement to publish on Spotify – 13 years old with parental consent
Related: Best Podcast Hosting Sites
6. Start a blog
For teens looking for a way to build a long term business that could potentially bring in some income, starting a blog about something you’re passionate about is a great move.
Blogs take time, effort, and strategy to start making money online, so beginning the process as a teen is smart. By the time you hit your 20s, you could be supplementing your income or even making a living from blogging.
Here’s a list of steps to get started as a teen blogger:
1. Research a niche
2. Learn the basics of search engine optimization
3. Check out some similar blogs in your niche and see what they are doing well
4. Take a blogging or writing course on a site like Udemy
5. Choose a web host for your blog – Hostgator is a great option for this
6. Install and customize free WordPress blog software
7. Install essential plugins
8. Start writing blog posts
Once you start getting more traffic, you can monetize your blog with ads, affiliate links, guest posts, and more.
If you’re free for a minute, check if a blog name is available!
Find a domain starting at $0.99
powered by Namecheap
Minimum age requirement for WordPress: 13 years old
Related: 10 Passive Income Ideas for College Students
7. Teach English on SameSpeak
While most online tutoring jobs for teens require you to be at least 18 years old, SameSpeak allows 16 year olds to sign up as an English tutor/coach.
If you’re a native English speaker, this gig is a great way to earn money. You’ll spend half hour sessions via Skype coaching people who want to learn English. For every 30-minute session, you can earn $10.
Check back often if there’s no openings for coaches right now.
Minimum age requirement for SameSpeak: 16 years old
8. Start a YouTube channel
Becoming successful on YouTube definitely isn’t easy, but it’s possible. Think about your favorite YouTube channels – what makes their content so great? No matter what you want to make videos about, you’ll want to ensure you have equipment like a microphone, ring light, and editing software to produce professional videos.
Not sure what to create a channel about? Here are a few ideas:
- Tutorials (makeup, hair, art, etc.)
- Reviewing shoes
- Pop culture reporting
- Video game walkthroughs
- Traveling
- Interviewing successful people
The options are endless, so get creative and stick to it! Even bringing in a little bit of money can make it all worthwhile.
9. Sign up for Swagbucks
If you want to enjoy a wide variety of tasks that can earn you cash, Swagbucks is the best place to make it happen. Take surveys, place games & trivia, watch videos, and more to earn “Swagbucks” that you can trade in for real gift cards and cash.
Members of the platform typically earn anywhere from $1 to $5 per day, depending on the available tasks.
Sign up with Swagbucks to get a $10 bonus.
Minimum age requirement to use Swagbucks: 13 years old
10. Sell websites
If you’re more tech-savvy and have a good understanding of how websites work, you could bring in some dough pretty easily by selling them to small businesses. Try building a site on Wix or Duda, where professional templates make it simple to create a beautiful website that’s already hosted on the platform once you publish it.
You could charge by the page or just come up with a flat fee to build a site. All businesses need an online presence, so start with your own inner circle of friends and family and then ask for referrals.
Minimum age requirement: 13 years old for Wix and 16 for Duda
11. Provide SEO services
This is one of the best online jobs for teens as it can bring in a full time income and be done on your own time. You will need to study search engine optimization and learn how it works before advertising your services.
SEO helps businesses get on the first page of Google so they get more traffic to their websites. If you can make that happen, there is a lot of income potential. Find a YouTube channel or course that can teach you the ins and outs of SEO. Ask a family member like a parent, aunt, or uncle if you can do it for their company to build a solid reputation.
Minimum age requirement: None (although certain online tools you want to use may have age requirements).
Online Typing Jobs for Teens
12. Transcribe and caption audio on Rev.com
Rev.com provides businesses with transcription, captioning, and subtitling services. Just think, with so much video and audio content out there, it’s vital that it’s properly and efficiently transcribed and captioned.
As a freelancer, you can sign up with Rev to actually transcribe audio and video files, making anywhere from $0.30 to $1.10 per minute of transcription. You’ll enjoy a flexible work schedule, wide variety of projects to choose from, and weekly payouts. It’s really a great gig to make some extra money.
Minimum age to freelance with Rev.com – 18 years old
Related: 25 Best Proofreading Jobs – Make $50/Hour
13. TranscribeMe
With little to no experience needed, TranscribeMe allows you to work from home at your own hours. This job involves taking video and audio files and converting them to text, with the flexibility to work as little or as much as you want, depending on the available files you receive.
They also offer one of the best rates in the typing job industry, with earnings starting at $15 – $22 per hour! They also provide expert training so you can improve your typing skills and get paid more money.
Minimum age to freelance with Transcribe Me – 18 years old
14. Upwork
Being one of the leading online freelance job platforms, Upwork allows you to find typing jobs with ease. You can find freelance typing gigs where you’ll be transcribing audio or video files, writing captions, or doing data entry work.
The pay might be lower starting off, but once you have some experience under your belt you can start charging higher rates.
Minimum age to freelance with Upwork – 13 years old
Related: 11 Best Under the Table Jobs for International Students
Making Money as a Teenager is Possible
Ready to start making some cash? Try one of these ideas and see where it takes you. You’ll need to set up a bank account and/or a PayPal account for certain jobs if you haven’t already, so ask a parent to help you get things established.
Even working just a few hours a week can help you earn money for small things like gas or give you a leg up on your savings.
